WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican Congressman Ted Budd (NC-13) won his seat in 2016 after battling through a 17 person Republican primary. He had never held elected office before, and since getting to D.C. he has racked up a very respectable conservative ranking.

However, now the 13th District seat is the focus of Democrats from within and outside of North Carolina as they believe it to be one of the most at risk seats on our congressional map. Budd’s fundraising numbers are not doing anything to assuage fears of a Democrat takeover either.

“He was supposed to be in a fairly safe seat, representing a district that President Donald Trump carried easily in 2016.

But Kathy Manning, a philanthropist, longtime Democratic donor, and former immigration lawyer, raised $662,448 in the first three months of 2018. Budd raised $215,979 in the quarter.

Budd’s fundraising has been an ongoing worry for Republican campaign officials. He was one of 43 incumbent Republicans who met individually with National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, earlier this year after their campaigns were outraised by potential Democratic challengers in the final quarter of 2017.

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Discussing his fundraising, Budd told North Carolina’s WXII television “That is old information … I’ve hit every target they’ve asked me to hit except for Quarter One, and that was when I was sworn in 14 months ago.””

Let’s hope Budd has more firepower than the last quarter would indicate. With Democrats hoping to make a serious dent in the Republican majority, if not win an outright majority of their own in the U.S. House, we need every right-minded Republican pulling out all stops to win election. On the plus side, Budd’s conservative voting record and background should help him during an election cycle that has so far seen Democrats pushing losing issues like gun control and opposition to tax cuts.